Wakeup Startup at Ohio State lands Ernst & Young as sponsor

The Columbus office of Ernst & Young LLP is adding its brand to the Wakeup Startup pitch sessions at Ohio State University, becoming the monthly event’s first corporate sponsor.

Three campus or community startup ideas are selected for each event, typically held at 7:30 a.m. the second Friday of each month, for backers to get feedback and advice from investors and fellow entrepreneurs in the crowd. Brian Cummings, OSU’s vice president for technology commercialization, asked area entrepreneurs to help found an open-invitation informal networking event when he was hired in 2011.

“You see this entrepreneur-driven movement where you have pitches and candid feedback – you’re really seeing the future of Columbus and Ohio, and of the United States,” said Craig Marshall, managing partner of Ernst & Young’s Columbus office.

Marshall told me he started attending early last year and by fall started talks with Cummings about a sponsorship.

“They weren’t necessarily looking for a sponsor,” he said.

“I like the open nature to the community at large. It shows Ohio State is invested in the community,” he said. “(Also) it wasn’t necessarily focused on a particular industry sector. It’s really diverse in its thinking.”

No money is changing hands in the sponsorship. Ernst & Young gets to add its brand to the event, and Marshall or a representative will volunteer as one of the formal panelists who question the presenters each month. The firm’s consultants also will volunteer for a startup mentorship initiative, the New Ventures Center, housed at the tech commercialization office in the South Campus Gateway.

“We hope one of these companies one day becomes the next Wendy’s or the next Cardinal Health,” Marshall said.